Books That Supply Vitamin D
By Bex Frankeberger
Like any good Californian, I grew up listening year-round to the Beach Boys. And now, like any good New Yorker, I spend my winters Vitamin D deficient. I still listen to the Beach Boys year-round, but I’ve found the Wilson brothers hit different when I’m wearing wool socks. True fans know that winter is Beach Boys season. How else are New Yorkers supposed to get Vitamin D? Supplements? No one has that kind of time! But we do have time to read. Here are five books to supply some wintry cheer when “Fun, Fun, Fun” plays one too many times (and you’re too sheepish to admit your devotion to “Sloop John B.”)
– Bex
Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly
This debut from Maori author Rebecca K Reilly (pubbing February 6th!!) is all about the collective - how do we show up for each other? How do secrets harm or embolden our communities? What can families - given and chosen - do to help each other thrive? This book is queer, fun, and wholesome. An ode to making our own sunshine days.
Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz
Babitz is my favorite of the 1970’s Los Angeles It Girls. She is glitz and glam, food and sex, determined to suck the marrow out of life the way only a Cool Girl(™) can. These essays are about relationships, Bakersfield, restaurant openings, and the Santa Ana winds. They fulfill my deep desire to just run around and write about whatever I bump into. My heart is a shrine for this scion of California literature.
They Can’t Kill Us Till They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
This book is arguably the least sunshine-y of the list, but it’s here for good reason. Abdurraqib writes about grief, joy, catharsis, and redemption, primarily through the lens of music. Writing about art will never be the same as experiencing art, but Abdurraqib comes as close as possible to that kind of heaven.
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg
A sultry, trans retelling of Mack the Knife! Ripe with secret societies, dark academia, and hot sex! That’s it, that’s the blurb!
Darryl by Jackie Ess
I manage to find a way to include this book in almost every list I write. The people need to know!! In this tiny novel we follow bisexual pleb Darryl Cook as he explores a cuckold lifestyle in Western Oregon. When Ess, a trans woman of color, was asked why she chose to write such a protagonist, she said, “I don’t want anyone to think it’s about me.” There is a joke in here about how this book in particular relates to Vitamin D, but I’m not going to be the one to make it.
